What are you doing this Easter? whether you're hitting the road to visit family and friends or staying in Dorset and want to know how you can get out and about, here's our guide to the roads, trains and buses. 

Roads

Around 20m cars are set to take to the roads between Maundy Thursday and bank holiday Monday. 

Figures released by the RAC also reveal Easter Sunday is set to be the busiest day with 4.2m journeys predicted. 

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: "Easter traditionally sees the first big getaway of the year but this time we are expecting an unprecedented number of cars to be using major roads for leisure trips.

"Some years Maundy Thursday before the Easter weekend can be exceptionally busy but this year Good Friday is the day everyone seems to be planning to head off which is why we are warning people to expect it to be a long, mad ‘Bad’ Friday on the roads."

Where are the traffic hotspots? 

Highways England is finishing or pausing work 208 roadworks covering 450 miles over the bank holiday weekend. 

Here's where you're most likely to hit the traffic:

  • M5 from Bristol to Taunton
  • A303 Stonehenge
  • A30 and A38 Exeter to Cornwall
  • M4 between Cardiff and Swansea
  • M25 between Gatwick and M1
  • A23/M23 to Brighton
  • A11 Norwich to Great Yarmouth
  • M55 between Preston and Blackpool
  • A14 between Midlands and East Coast
  • A66 between M6 and the coast
  • M53 between Liverpool and Chester

When should I travel?

  • Easter Sunday: Before 10am and after 4pm
  • Bank Holiday Monday: Before 12pm and after 6pm

Trains

South West Trains will run a Saturday service on Good Friday and bank holiday Monday. 

All lines in the Southampton area will be closed all day Sunday.

A limited train service will run between Eastleigh and Southampton Airport Parkway on both days.

On Sunday:

  • Trains between London Waterloo and Weymouth will run to and from Southampton Airport Parkway.
  • There will be no Poole portion on services to and from Portsmouth via Eastleigh and the afternoon and evening services to Poole will not run. Passengers should change at Eastleigh for replacement bus services.
  • Replacement bus services for local journeys will run between Eastleigh, Southampton Central and Brockenhurst. Buses will also run between Southampton Central and Romsey via Redbridge.
  • Revised train services will run between Brockenhurst and Poole/Weymouth.
  • Fast buses for long distance passengers will run between Eastleigh and Bournemouth, also calling at Southampton Airport Parkway.

Cross Country services are also affected over Easter:

Easter Sunday

Trains will operate between Reading and Southampton Airport Parkway. Rail replacement road transport will operate between Bournemouth and Southampton Airport Parkway; Southampton Central and Southampton Airport Parkway.

Bank holiday Monday to Thursday from 9pm each night:  

Late evening trains to Southampton Central and Bournemouth will divert not to call at Winchester and Southampton Airport Parkway. Journey times will be extended by 45 minutes. Rail replacement road transport will run between Basingstoke and Winchester.

Buses

Yellow Buses will run a Sunday Service on Good Friday and Easter Monday with the following routes running: 1a, 1b, 1c, 2b, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5b, 6, 24 and A1. 

A normal Sunday service runs on Easter Sunday.

Morebus will run a Sunday service on Easter Sunday and bank holiday Monday. 

The Purbeck Breezer will run additional journeys on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday as the weekend summer timetable is introduced.

The Breezer 40 route from Poole to Swanage will see the first bus out from Poole at 7.50am and services hourly until 11pm, with a last bus back from Swanage at 9.45pm.

Breezer 50 from Bournemouth to Swanage will see a first bus out from Bournemouth at 8.58am and hourly buses through to 7.38pm, with a last bus back from Swanage at 6.25pm.